How to Save a Life
by Gentelman 2.0
Summary: Is life worth living? To Adam, it does not. He goes away to kill himself but finds a dying girl. Will either of them die? Will the defenders find out about his suicide attempt? What are the consequences? Rated T for blood, tragedy and death.
1. A Fading Heartache

(Adam's POV)

I tossed and turned, my face wet with tears mixed with cold sweat. My heart pounded hard in my torso, punching my ribcage nonstop. Total fear shot through my mind, thinking my dreams were reality until my eyes opened. My upper body rocketed up, my lungs expanding and shriveling as my hands clenched.

Slowly, my knee-buckling fear re-formed into pure anger as well as unbearable hatred. Growling, I jumped out of my bed and punched the wall. With teeth clenched, I recoiled from the instant pain, looking at my reddened knuckles.

"You're weak!" I could still hear his voice echo in my head.

Out of mixed emotions, I punched and punched the wall until a loud crack sounded. Blood trickled down the cracked wall, the fragments chipped off it were stuck in my fist.

"You'll never be a true warrior!" his voice yelled in my head without hesitation or regret.

I collapsed to my knees, he was right; I'll never be a real fighter. Then, I heard other voices in my mind…the team's voices.

"I don't love you, Adam, leave me alone!" Mel screamed at me once.

"Traitor!" Kara called me.

"Dirty scum-bag" Erik called me when I kidnapped his sister.

"I don't trust him" I once over heard Seth saying.

The one thing that surprised me was that Rion hasn't insulted me yet. Why have I joined this time? Oh, I remember, they never tried to kill me! Still, I wasn't loved by the one I lusted for and nor was I befriended by the ones I had closest to friends.

As I picked the debris out of my hand, I planned to make my entire pain and anguish end. In my eyes, this was the only way out and the only way to make everyone happy. I was planning to commit suicide.

* * *

><p>During breakfast, I received strange looks due to my thick-bandaged hand. Instead of glaring back, I just glanced up at them and went back to my cereal. I was going to die soon so it didn't matter anymore. Seth walked in, giving Melosa a quick kiss and a smile.<p>

Every time I witnessed them together, the hole in my heart burned enough to draw tears yet my eyes stayed dry this time. He sat next to her, their fingers entwined under the table.

"So, guys, how's it going?" he asked with a smile.

"I pulled another all-nighter, up-grading on the mech-arm" Erik held out the mech-arm to Seth to place it over his rock-arm.

"Thanks, man" he curled his fingers until the tips of the fingers turned into claws.

"Now, if you can't cast, you can fight with claws and…" I droned out Erik's voice as I talked to Rion next to me.

"So, how's training doing?" I asked.

"The usual, Erik keeps kicking my butt but other than that, its fine." a smile tugged at his lips.

"I'm sure that if you work a little harder, the tables will turn." I returned the small smile.

It was quiet for a moment until I was about to leave the room with my empty bowl.

"So, Adam, what happened to your hand?" Mel asked interested how I hurt myself again.

"I…um, punched the wall in my sleep" I lied partially.

"I don't think _one _punch can break your hand" she raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I'm stronger than I look" I left without waiting for a response.

As I left the bowl in the sink, I noticed a knife on the counter. Perfect. Hiding it in my pocket with the blade pointing up, I walked out. Soon, I was just sitting on the floor in my room, trying to list the reasons why not to carry out my plan.

I just kept staring at the words "Reason 1:" with nothing after that. I turned over the paper and wrote reasons to carry out the plan.

"1. Mel rejected me.

2. Everyone hates me.

3. Brakus, who is living with us with possible amnesia, kidnapped me and killed my real parents so I'll never meet them.

4. The others think all I do is betray and leave them only to come crawling back.

5. More importantly, no one will miss me." I underlined the last sentence before crumbling it up and using another paper.

"Dear Di-gata Defenders,

I have chosen this path to follow since, well, everyone hates and uses me! Brakus abused me mercilessly as a child, everyone I failed to pick-pocket would beat me down and now, this team just plainly hates me. It's only a matter of time before you all attempt to murder me as well. So, to save the agonizing waiting, I did it myself. I only have one wish, don't let Rion or Kara see my lifeless body. Those two are too young to be scarred mentally like that. It's my time to die and your time to live, just try not to mess it up.

From Adam" I wrote and left on my bed.

Sighing, I took one last look around my room before leaving the dojo. Luckily, no one caught me running deep into the wilderness. Plants brushed against my covered ankles and scratched my arms. Constantly, thoughts raced through my mind about several different things. It wasn't until I stopped and put the blade from my pocket to my tan skin that the thoughts faded.

Okay, this is it; it's time to end it all. The pain, the misery and the constant burning in my chest known as the desire for true freedom would soon end. The blade bit into the skin of my wrist, blood leaking out drop by drop. Taking in a deep breath, I was about to shove the blade deeper in when I heard a bush rustling behind me. Great, Zads to attack me since I left my stones in my room.

"H-help" I heard a hoarse, weak voice behind me, I don't think Zads talk.

I whirled around to see a body sprawled out on the ground. The blade in my hand fell to the ground as I realized the person was a young woman in torn, bloodied clothes and grey marks formed an "X" over her face. She had short, dark brown hair and she practically looked like a skeleton with clothes over her skin. Other than those features, she was _beautiful!_

At that moment, I had to think. Get her to safety and kill myself later or kill myself now and let her die as well? I bit my lip and glanced down at the knife with its edge lined with some of my blood. Sighing, I approached her and picked her off the ground. Wow, she was very light, that's not good.

I suppose my suicide will have to wait. However, as I ran, I glanced down at the girl and felt the burning in my chest slowly ease away.


	2. Kitty

(Adam's POV)

Finally, I was back inside the dojo with the others gathering around the table, where the girl was laid out. Rion dashed off to get Brakus the Healer the second he noticed her horridly burned arms, bleeding hands, scratched face and the long gash down her left side. The brunette girl was a bloody, dirt covered mess, light from either starvation, blood-loss or most likely both.

"Who is she?" Mel gasped at the sight of her.

"How did you find her?" Seth wondered.

"Do you know her?" Erik turned to face me.

"Why is your wrist bleeding?" Mel asked another question.

"One at a time!" I snapped, surprising them. "I don't know the girl, I just found her in the forest!"

Brakus treated the girl with stitches, bandages and medicine. Once she was awake for a moment, he gave her some water but she slipped back under again. During the entire time, I was wondering who was she and how did she make me feel…like I could postpone my death even more.

Then, I remembered the suicide note; it was still left on my bed! Quickly, I sneaked away from the others but I didn't get far.

"Adam…" an anger boiled in my blood every time I heard my 'father' say my name. "…you're hurt."

Swallowing my pride for a minute, I let the older man tend my wound.

"May I ask what happened?" his dark eyes shifted from my wrist to my face.

"I tripped and fell on a stick" I lied easily as he looked skeptic. "I need to get my stones from my room."

Now, I was able to get away. The note was still on my bed so I folded it up and slipped it under the mattress. Just as I fixed the bed, Rion came running down the hall, panting.

"Adam, hurry, she's awake!" how was that a bad thing?

With my stone-pouch in my hand, I bolted next to him down the halls to heard screaming. Then, a blur flashed at my left and I heard the young teen grunting. He'd just been knocked unconscious by a thrown _skillet! _Whipping around my head, I spotted the brunette girl on the kitchen counter. She was swinging around pans at the others. Mel, Erik and Rion were all unconscious with bumps on their heads. Seth and Brakus were trying to calm the crazed girl. Why didn't Seth use his stones to summon a net?

"Please stop, you're going to open your stitches if you keep this up!" Brakus side-stepped to avoid one of the vicious girl's swings.

Yelping, I ducked a thrown pan that banged against the wall behind me. Growling, I snatched a few of Rion's stones to summon the 'Silver encasement' as I ran towards her.

"Silver encasement!" I called, casting the stones.

For some reason, the di-gata stones just flickered light and fell to the ground. Why didn't they work? Were they on the fritz or am _I _the problem?

Sighing, I was dodging everything that came in my direction but a plate from the sink hit my shoulder. I winced, holding my shoulder, a bruise would definitely show. When I was very close, she knocked out Seth and made Brakus back away due to the fact that she found the cabinet with dishes in it.

Finally, I was able to pulled her down from the counter and pin her on the floor by her wrists, which was a little hard to do with a hand in a cast. To get me off, she head-butted me but the collision hurt both of us. Now that I was staring dead at her, I realized something. In her deep blue eyes, there was nothing but fear. Almost immediately, I slightly loosened my grip on her wrists.

"You don't have to be scared; you're with the Di-gata Defenders. We'll protect you" I tried my own way of calming her down. "What's your name?"

"Cordelia" she struggled harder.

"I'm Adam" she gave me a look, confused on why I just told her my name. "Now, if I let you up, will you try to kill us again?"

Cordelia sighed and her eyes shifted around, "No, promise."

"Good enough" I got to my feet and offered her my hand.

The simple gesture was enough to confuse her again so she just rejected the offer. She gazed at me, slowly circling me at a distance until she spoke.

"You saved me before" she pointed out, remembering that I was the one out in the forest. "Why?"

"Technically, you _did _ask for help and you look like you just got out of a nasty fight with a Zad" I referred to the scratches, the gash on her side and her wicked burns that reached down to the middle of her forearms.

She tilted her head at me, "Kitty" she randomly called me.

I raised an eyebrow at her until she pointed to my hair, "You look like a kitty."

"I'm _not _a cat" I was a little agitated.

"Kitty" she repeated.

"I'm **not **a cat" my eye twitched.

"Kitty" apparently, she didn't listen.

"I AM NOT A CAT!" I yelled, frustrated.

"Kitty" she walked past me without waiting for a response.

I sighed angrily and smacked my forehead with the palm of my not-broken hand, telling myself to let it go. Brakus was tending the others, who all had bruises and bumps on their heads.

"They're the defenders?" Cordelia asked the older man.

"Yes but they most likely need more hand-to-hand combat since the di-gata stone did not work for some reason."

She smirked proudly and tapped her upper chest, "Cancellation stone."

"You have a stone implanted in your chest?" he looked at her with interest.

She nodded and he resumed talking, "Fascinating, Seth, the young defender there, had a stone implanted in his right hand but it caused him extreme pain. Does this rare stone give side-effects?"

"Wait, what kind of stone are we talking about?" I spoke up.

"With this stone, no other di-gata stone, not even another cancellation stone can cast around it except for the user's stones." As Brakus explained, I noticed a sign of guilt on Cordelia's face.

What could she be guilty about? I tried to think of ways she could be guilty but nothing came up. Maybe she cancelled out someone's stones permanently by accident…or there was just more than meets the eye with this 15-year old.

Soon, she caught me staring at her but she took it the wrong way and backhanded me since the palms of her hands were scratched up. When I asked her why she did it, she said I was staring at her…chest. To tell the truth, my eyes just happened to "wander" down to there.


	3. Confessions

(Rion's Pov)

Ugh, my head hurt as badly as my body was numb. What happened? The last thing I remember was running into the kitchen with Adam. My forehead started to burn until it suddenly went cold again. Groaning, I opened my eyes to see a pair of big blue eyes staring back down at me.

"Whoa!" I gasped, putting my arms up in defense. It was that girl from earlier.

"Hi, sorry about before." she spoke softly but I just blinked at her, confused a little.

"Umm, okay, I'm Rion" I was about to sit up when she pushed me back down with a hand on my chest.

"Icepack" she pointed to my forehead, "Cordelia" she tilted her head.

I smiled up at her, "So, what happened and how long was I out?"

"Hours, Kitty told me you were defenders" she answered.

"Who's Kitty?"

"I told you a million times already, I'm not a cat. Hey, Rion" Adam walked in, sounding exasperated.

"Hey, Adam" I greeted him.

"Cordy, Brakus want's to see you in the main room to check the bandages."

As she left, I sat up, holding he icepack to my aching head, "Adam…I know about the note."

He frowned, "W-what note?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You said you were going to kill yourself! Why?" I raised my voice at him.

He bit his lip, his eyes lowering to the ground as he spoke. "It's complicated."

"I have time" I was even more concerned now.

He dragged forward the chair from my desk and sat down, sighing with his face buried in his hands.

"I…couldn't find my reason to live. Everyone hates me, I wanted to leave but then I remembered all the times I was beaten down until I was almost dead. I just thought…if I was dead, I'd be free and no one would miss me."

"Adam…" I was speechless. "I'd miss you, you're important on this team and if I let you die, I'd never forgive myself." I placed a hand on his shoulder.

The older male looked up at me with small tears in his hopeful eyes.

"Hug?" I didn't exactly know what to do so I offered a hug.

He accepted the offer and gave me a quick hug, "Are you going to tell the others?" he mumbled.

"About the hug or the note?"

"Both" he answered simply as we broke the embrace.

"No and no, but if they find out somehow, it's not my fault" I smiled at him.

He gave a small smile back until we heard Seth walking in with a confused look on his face.

"Is there something strange with that Cordelia-girl?" he asked. "First, she tries to kill us and somehow stops our stones. Now, she's helping us and I still can't figure out who she keeps calling Kitty."

"Well, she calls me that because of my hair but I just don't see it" Adam leaned back in the chair, looking agitated.

Seth laughed mostly because his hair _did _make him look like a feline.

* * *

><p>(Erik's POV)<p>

"Mr. Techie?" I heard a girl's voice as I slowly came back to consciousness.

The first thing I noticed was a soft smile and a pair of blue eyes. They were too dark blue to be Mel's so my hands automatically flew up, pushing her away. It was the girl Adam brought in! She stepped back before I even touched her and grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet.

"Come on" she tugged me out the door by my hand.

I yanked it back easily and pointed my gauntlet at her, "Who are you and why did you attack us? We were only trying to help you!"

The very skinny girl raised an eye brow at me, "Stones won't work, I'm Cordelia" she held her hand out to me, which I ignored.

"Erik, now, answer me" I demanded as she batted her eyes adorably at me.

"I was scared but not any more" she turned around, walking down the halls. "Others are waiting" she added.

To be safe, I kept my distance from her, I kept my muscles tight and ready to attack or run. The brown-haired teen led me into the main room, where everyone else was waiting for us. As I sat down, she walked near Adam and he started talking.

"Guys, this is Cordelia, she mostly came here because she needs a place to stay." He started but she took it from there.

"Every camp and town exiled me" she lowered her gaze.

"Why?" Melosa asked.

"Cancellation stone shuts down every stone. I left them vulnerable, without power" she replied.

"Then why don't you get rid of it?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Won't come out" she tugged down the collar of the baggy shirt she was given, showing a blue glow radiating from her upper chest.

Instantly, we were surprised, "Whoa, who put it there?" Seth couldn't take his eyes off the glow.

"Father wanted to protect me but instead it damned me. It won't allow my stones to work. When it did, I was too close and…" she bit her lip, stopping herself.

Adam looked at her with sympathy, putting a hand gently on her shoulder, "Cordy, you can trust us, what happened?"

She was quiet for a moment until her gaze was drawn to his sympathetic smile, "It…it killed my guardian, a phoenix named Pryronos. Then, a woman, Lady K'Tahsh, murdered my family…my friends too."

Cordelia had tears at the corners of her eyes as she confessed but tried to hide them by looking away. Us…we were just in awe; Lady K'Tahsh was known as an Ethos villain but we didn't know her as a bloodthirsty _murderer!_ The defenders have dealt with several things but not something as serious as this.

Adam held her close for comfort, telling her that everything's going to be okay but we all knew that she wasn't going to be okay.


	4. Where is the Love?

(Adam's POV)

We ran out of bedrooms when Brakus moved in and Erik wouldn't let Cordelia use Kara's room for a while so I offered her my room. Getting a spare pillow and a blanket out of the closet, I laid down on the floor. Instead of hopping into bed, she just stared at me with a confused look. She was wearing a baggy, dark blue shirt and a very tight belt for her matching pants.

"You can sleep in the bed, I'll take the floor" I explained.

"Oh" was all that she reacted with before awkwardly laying down on the bed.

I guess that sleeping in a nice bed was very different from a forest floor, constantly waking up at every slight sound. She even had the marks under her eyes to prove the lack of slumber. All I could think when I saw Cordelia in her terrible condition was 'Poor girl…'

* * *

><p>In the morning, I opened my eyes but I just noticed something; I slept through the whole night without a single nightmare. The second thing I noticed was the skinny brunette girl's face inches form mine. At first, I just blinked at her and tried to process this image until my voice of reason told me to back away. However, I didn't move.<p>

Sunlight poured in through the window, caught by the curtains to dim it. The surviving beams of light loomed across her face, causing her hair to shimmer brightly. Her face looked so peaceful, so calm and so…beautiful.

That's when it hit me. There was my true reason…she had been through Hell and back, like me. This girl had been at Death's door, knocking but I was the one who pulled her away before he could come. I saved her life…in return, she had saved mine.

"Thank you, Cordelia…" I whispered.

As if hearing me, she curled against my body, hugging me and seeking warmth in her sleep. I couldn't help but hold back a laugh at the slightly younger girl.

* * *

><p>(A week later)<p>

As I was training with Mel, I only had one shield-stone up with my guardian, Firefox, fighting her Drakor. The two legged fox leaped out of the way of the white dragon's ice breath and jumped as high as he could, catching his fangs on Drakor's tail. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Seth training hand-to-hand with Rion. Brakus was instructing on where sensitive parts were and fighting strategies.

"ADAM, WATCH OUT!" Mel screamed.

In a flash, my attention was drawn to her as she tackled me! What was that for? We hit the ground hard and when I was about to ask her why she tackled me, one of the pillars smashed to the ground. Immediately, I thought someone was attacking us but the thought changed when I noticed a large chunk of ice leaning against the base of the pillar. Mel knocked it over and if she hadn't lunged at me, I would surely have been killed by it!

"Are you hurt?" she asked, still on top of me.

I didn't look at her; I was still staring at the pillar, in shock.

"Adam!" Another voice made my heart sink. It was Cordelia.

My head whirled around, searching for her until my eyes stopped on the look of betrayal, hurt and shock on her face.

"No, Cordy!" I spoke up; realizing what this looked like to her but she had already ran off.

"Mel!" Seth yelled, angry.

The silver haired teen got off of me when she noticed her boyfriend seeing the same thing Cordelia did.

"Seth, it's not what you think. I-" he interrupted her.

"Save it, I knew someone like _you _would do this to me. I trusted you!" his voice was dripping with _so _much venom, it even hurt me.

He stormed off with her following behind, still trying to explain. I quickly to my feet to run after Cordelia. I checked the main room, my room, every closet and even the bathrooms; she was no where to be found. Panic spiked up in my chest, fear roaming my mind just like when I had my nightmares but this one was worse. She wasn't in the dojo; she ran away without anything to protect her!

I dashed into the forest without the others, calling her name as loud as a banshee call. I was never answered, which made the panic tighten its grip around my heart. It wasn't until I collapsed to my knees, panting, that I was answered with the bush rustling. However, what I didn't expect was a burning hot rock knocking me out from one strike to my back. It was a Zad attacking me.

Before I could jump to my feet and fight, I lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>(Erik's POV)<p>

I was walking by the kitchen to go to my room/lab when I heard soft gasping and a few sniffles coming from the cupboards. I knelt down to one of them and opened the door. It was Cordelia…and she was crying. Her eyes were red and puffy with tears as proof. Why was she crying and hiding? Is she in pain?

Nonetheless, I held the smaller close for comfort. Even if she was 15-years old, she was short. The girl's face was buried in my chest as I patted her back, just like how I held Kara when she lost her legs. We stayed like this for a while until the hitching of her breath faded. I lifted her up onto the counter and wiped away her tears with a damp towel.

"He w-was with her" she whimpered.

"Who?" I asked, looking down at her soggy face.

"Kitty was _with _Melosa" I caught her drift as she lowered her gaze.

I knew of Cordelia's affection for Adam so hearing this made rage boil in my blood. My hands clenched and it took plentiful of restraint to keep myself from hunting him down. She needed me now so revenge can wait for later.

"That jerk doesn't deserve you" she held her head up at my words.

"But I-" she stopped herself with a blush.

During the whole week that I've known her, I always thought that every time she looked embarrassed or even a little awkward, it was adorable. She glanced down then back up at me just as I was starting to lose grip on my restraint. I reached up, cupping my palm against her warm cheek with my thumb wiping away her last tear. Slowly, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.

I could feel her trembling, deciding to either shove me away or give in. It wasn't very long before she wrapped her arms around me, kissing me back. I didn't know if she was kissing me because she needed someone to hold or she really did love me. Did she really love me…or Adam?

* * *

><p><strong>Please review, reviews are very much appreciated and loved, thank you for reading.<strong>


	5. Adam Returns

**I apologize for it being a smidge shorter**

* * *

><p>(Cordelia's POV)<p>

It's been three months since the incident and things just fell apart. Seth and Mel broke up, I hooked up with Erik and Adam disappeared. Rion never gave up on looking for him so we haven't seen the two males for a while. With just the four of us, things were dull and angered. Since I saw Mel on top of Adam, I blamed her for it but after two months, I let go of the grudge.

Every night that I slept in Adam's room, I had the same nightmare. I was in the forest and Adam was facing away from me. I'd call out his name and run to embrace the boy I missed but he'd run away. The surroundings would fade away to black and all it would be is me chasing him until I was forced to give up. Then, Erik would come and have me sleep in his room, holding me close every night. The sound of his calm heart beat was enough to lull me to sleep.

Now, I was just stand there in Adam's room, turning his di-gata stones in my hands; he forgot them here when he ran off. I knew I could never cast again nor could I be near my friends when they cast their stones. I'd always be vulnerable…always weak, it sickened me. Setting the stones down on the desk, I walked out to go train hand-to-hand with Seth.

* * *

><p>(Erik's POV)<p>

Today was my birthday and the others knew so I couldn't help but smile for hours. Usually, I would get a very powerful crystal to experiment on or more tech to take apart and build into something else. This time, I decided to both give and receive a gift as I spotted Cordelia, my girlfriend, in the kitchen. She had finish washing the dished as I approached her.

I held her hand, turning her around to kiss her passionately. Her hands went up to my chest before we parted.

"Why so spontaneous?" she asked, smiling softly.

"I'm turning 15 today" I smiled back.

I kissed her again, feeling her body clinging to mine. To bring the short girl to my hieght, I lifted her onto the counter and let my hands roam. Her breath hitched when I felt around her sides, stroking them to see her tremble slightly. Smirking at the scarlet-faced girl, I kissed her again and led butterfly kisses down her jaw line.

"Adam!" she gasped as I pecked at her neck.

Immediately, I frowned and looked up at her shocked. She called me by the wrong name.

"C-Cordy?" I heard a familiar voice behind me straining.

I whirled around, seeing Adam's arm around Rion's shoulders, helping him to walk. He was bruised all over with bandages wrapping his chest all the way around. Blood oozed from the large cut above his left eye, forcing him to close his eye as the tribal-looking knife was sticking out of his right thigh. He was as bad as a bloodied mess Cordelia was when she first came to the dojo.

"Adam!" she cried, hopping off the counter with tears already in her eyes.

I watched, frozen as she ran to the dark haired boy, catching him as he began to collapse. Rion, who was bleeding badly from his right arm with a snapped-in-half arrow in the other arm, ran off to get Brakus.

Before I could look away from the two, Adam pulled Cordelia close, "Cordy, if I don't make it, I want you to know I love you" he strained harder to stay awake.

The dying teen kissed her hard at first until he fell away, passing out in her arms. A wild blush spread across her face as she cried his name over and over. Coming to my senses, I ran over to her and helped her get him onto the table to get treated by Brakus. She sat in a seat near the table, holding his hand in both of hers.

"Adam, if you hear me, squeeze my hand" she kept her eyes on him.

I wanted to punch him for kissing her yet I wanted to help save my friend. Grasping hold of the knife in the teen's leg, Brakus paused.

"What are you waiting for?" I snapped.

"Take Cordelia away from here, this is going to get gruesome" he ordered.

"Not leaving" she hissed at him.

He nodded to me as I sadly nodded back, having to drag my girlfriend away so Melosa could be the assistant. She fought back as hard as she could; pounding my chest and thrashing her legs wildly. Her attempts of escape hurt but what hurt more was the fact that I knew for a fact that if Adam had stayed awake just a little longer, she'd say she loved him too.


	6. Bibi wa Abu

(Erik's POV)

My heart burned hard as I saw her sleeping. Cordelia was sitting in a chair with her head down on the table, her cocoa brown hair slightly obscuring her beautiful face. Naturally, this couldn't bother me but what did was Adam holding her hand. He hasn't woken up yet so she didn't leave him unless someone had to carry her away. It was late at night now.

"Just let her be, Erik" Seth placed a hand on my shoulder. "She's missed her best friend for three months. She even told me she forgives him and would help Rion find him if she didn't love you."

I gave him a smile and went to the closet to get an extra blanket. Silently spreading it over her, I pressed my lips to her forehead. She just smiled in her sleep and didn't even wake up surprisingly. For all I knew now, a tank could have crashed through the wall and she'd still be sleeping.

As I walked away, I glanced back with worry. What if Seth was wrong? What if they're more than best friends? The anger bubbled up along with the stinging jealousy. If Adam ever hurt her or ever stole her away from me, he'd pay…in blood.

* * *

><p>Morning came but when I went to check on Cordelia, she wasn't still sitting at the table and Adam wasn't around the table either. In the distance, I could hear voices and I instantly knew who they were. It was them.<p>

"Adam, we need to talk" she stated.

"What happened to the 'kitty' thing?" he leaned on his crutch and put his hand on her waist.

"I thought it annoyed you" she tilted her head cutely.

"It was annoying but it was also adorable" he smiled, a loving look in his eyes.

My hands clenched as he leaned his head down but he was just lucky she backed away.

"Listen, when you said you loved me…" I knew it, she loved him too.

I lowered my held, sorrow and pain filling my heart only to burn it away as if it was acid.

She removed his hand and held it, "…I couldn't tell you the same because I…I'm in love with Erik."

I rose my head, surprised and glee rebuilt my heart. I wanted to jump for joy until I heard what came next.

"I'm gone for three months and you've already gone crazy, I know you love me instead of that geek. You just can't deny it" he grabbed her chin. I admit that _did _offened me.

"I love _both _of you but I could never cheat on someone as kind as him. I'm sorry" she tried to give him a hug but he shoved her away.

He was furious, "But that's not fair! While I was kidnapped, burned, beaten and hunted, he was here to steal you from me! The reason I ran was because I was looking for you, I wanted to explain but I couldn't find you. Then some weird voodoo lady tells me you're some ledgendary Misstress and you were going to marry some guy but love _me!_" I had no clue what he was talking about after mentioning a voodoo woman.

The color drained from her face, "Did she call me Bibi wa Abu?"

"That doesn't matter now, what mat-" she cut him off.

"Adam, we don't have much time. Did she call me Bibi wa Abu?" she was completely serious as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Yes, but why does it…and you're gone" he trailed off as she ran away, worry plastered on her face.

"Get Erik and meet me at the Stormers" she called back.

I walked out from behind the corner, looking confused and a little ticked off. Adam looked just as confused as me as he shrugged his shoulders. Still, I punched in hard in the arm, causing him to stumble with his crutch.

"What the hell?"

"I saw everything, Adam. She loves me, deal with it." my voice was dripping with harsh venom.

* * *

><p>We rendezvoused at the Stormers, seeing Cordelia run towards us with a backpack. She hopped on Mel's Stormer with Adam behind her. I followed them on my Stormer, not very far behind.<p>

"What's going on?" he asked the question both of us couldn't stop wondering.

"Bibi wa Abu, it means Misstress of the Flame. Before the Cancellation stone killed my guardian, Pyronos was fire-bird and I had control of him so I fit the prophecy. The marks on my face even proved it to the Swahili priestess that I was the reincarnation of Bibi wa Abu. As the prediction goes, I was to marry Mwalimu wa Teknolojia. It's Swahili for Master of Technology. Erik, you're the reincarnation of him." she carefully maneuvered through the wilderness.

"Wait, you speak Swahili? That's a very ancient language, how do you know it and I'm really the Master of Technology?" I asked, flashing her a suspicious look.

"Yes and I grew up there as a child, it was the first language I learned until my father started talking to my mother in English. I wanted to know every language he did so I know English, Swahili and some Italian words." she gasped, swerving out of the way of a thick tree trunk.

Knowing this, I let her continue talking, "In their village, they burned the future wife's arms instead of giving a ring. They burned me but I never completed the ceremony. When I refused to marry a stranger and attempted to run, they tried to lock me away until Mwalimu wa Teknolojia would arrive. Adam were to be Mbegu za Mkono Partner, A Hidden Love Partner. Mother and Father helped me escape but at the cost of my guardian. I ran into the tribe's warriors, I tried to cast Pyronos but his stone was shut down…perminently." she explained.

I could tell Adam was mostly surprised that her speech pattern changed drastically while he was gone.

"So why are we running away?" I asked.

"If Adam can get from the village to the dojo with a knife in his leg, I think fully trained warriors can as well. The others have no part in the prophecy so they're safe." she glanced back at me then back ahead to dodge a tree.

"When did you learn how to drive a Stormer?" Adam looked back.

"I didn't, the fact that we haven't crashed yet is pure luck" she smiled back at us.

Crap.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review.<strong>


	7. Getting Away

(Adam's POV)

Late at night, we stopped to rest but Erik refused to let me build a fire. He said it'll keep away the animals but help the hunters find us. Cordelia pulled two tarps out of her backpack and covered the Stormers with them.

"What else did you bring?" I asked.

"Food, canteens, supplies, this…" she pulled out my pouch of di-gata stones, handing it to me. "…and this." she pulled out the tribal-looking knife that had some type of extremely sharp rock tied skillfully to a handle.

"Gross, you kept a knife that was in my leg?" she smiled at me.

"A weapon is a weapon, casting would draw too much attention." she tossed up the knife and snatched it in mid-air by the handle again but with the dull side pressing to the ulna of her forearm.

I glanced over at Erik, giving him a look with my eyes flickering to my left a few times. Both of us stood up, walking a short distance towards the thicker part of the wilderness.

"Listen, if you and Cordy are really happy together…take care of her. I've loved her from the day I found her in the forest. When Rion told me I still had purpose in life, I didn't believe him until I realized how much I wanted her. She's my reason for living so…hurt her and I'll kick your teeth out." I threatened him without even sounding like I meant it.

I bet he was just plainly surprised as I walked away. If I just happened to die right then, I wouldn't care. The two loves of my life are in love with others. However, what kept me from killing myself again was a memory; a few words.

"I love _both _of you…" the words echoing in my head made the ends of my lips curl up.

I still had a chance; it was only a matter of time. I knew that if I truly loved her, I'd wait.

I turned my gaze to where I thought Cordelia was but she was standing right in front of me. She grabbed me by the back of my neck and yanked me forward. At first, I thought she was hugging me until I heard a sickening _shirk_! A warm liquid sprayed me from behind and something made a _thud_ on the ground. She released me so I could turn around and gawk at the dark skinned man with his throat slashed open! He had a loin-cloth with the top hem lined with animal teeth. He must have been another of those hunter-warriors looking for us.

A hand grabbed the back of my cloak and pulled me back. I stumbled, pain shooting up my still healing leg as Cordelia pulled me onto Mel's Stormer.

"Erik, hurry!" she called, starting the engine.

My eyes flashed everywhere, looking for the other teen. The boy with reddish-brown hair was trying to fight off two young men, struggling.

Cordelia tapped my shoulder, "Stay."

In second, she hopped off the vehicle and impaled one of the men from behind. He was about to let out a shriek when she covered his mouth and with a swift movement of her wrist, a loud crack came from his neck.

I thought I knew everything about her but apparently, this was the one side of her I've never seen before. As she killed the third man by slicing open his stomach, her face was stoic, emotionless and no remorse. I was shocked; the girl who once called me "kitty" and used to warmly smile at me was killing out of cold blood!

With red spotted on her hands and cheek, she got in front of me on the Stormer. We rode off with Erik not far behind, equally shocked.

As my arms clung to her waist, I thought over her whole life. Cordelia was locked away, burned, forced to marry someone she didn't know but escaped, she had to fight instead of have her guardian protect her, damned with a cancellation stone and orphaned by an Ethos woman. I'd figure she'd be bitter with life and she'd kill herself but she didn't. She was emotionally strong…she was stronger than me but there was one way how I was different…I didn't kill.

We rode for miles in the dark, only the moonlight to use for sight. Some where along the way, the vehicle started drifting and Cordelia started nodding her head as if to an unheard beat. We were all tired and we needed to rest but she kept going. I glanced over at Erik with heavy eyelids, seeing his dozing off as well.

"Cordy, we need to stop" I murmured with my forehead against her back.

"No, we have to keep going…have to get away…" I could tell she was ready to pass out.

"I'll stay awake so you and Erik can sleep, we'll take shifts" I offered.

The exhausted girl sighed and slowed down the vehicle with her boyfriend coming to a stop and falling onto the ground, sleeping. I wobbled on my crutch to walk until I could feel myself tipping over. Instinctively, my hands reached for something to keep me from falling. I grabbed cloth but weight collapsed onto me once I hit the ground.

Opening my eyes when I wanted to close them, I witnessed gorgeous blue eyes staring back at me. It was Cordelia. By now, I also noticed the spotted blood on her face, across the "X" in grey on her face, was turning brown. After crawling off of me, she sharply inhaled, muscles tightening and goose bumps forming across her arms; she was freezing.

Seeing this, I slipped off my cloak and laid it on top of her to use as a blanket. Now, I was shivering so I just turned away from her and drew my knees up in seek of warmth. The chilly air was biting into my skin, nipping at me every second. My mind was about to be drifting away when a warm hand rolled me onto my back, putting my knees down.

Heat crawled over me along with the weight of a still very skinny girl. The ends of my lips curled into a smile as my arms wrapped around her body. I kissed the top of her head, whispering a goodnight. God, I missed the nights she'd snuggle up to me.

"Adam?" she was so quiet, I almost didn't hear her.

"Hmm?"

"I'm scared…" I looked down at her in confusion. "The Swahili people think of all me and Erik as gods. They want me to marry him but marriage…it scares me. What do I do?"

Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, mixing with the blood. This girl never ceased to surprise me; I guess Little Miss Fearless really did have fears after all. Caressing her cheeks, I wiped away the tears with my thumb. I gave her an assuring smile and spoke softly.

"What's there to be scared of? If you love him, marry him, do what you think is best."

"But what about you?" she blinked away the tears.

"I'll be fine, if you're happy, I'm happy" I smiled softly down at her.

Hearing this, she buried her face in my chest and sobbed, "I'm sorry, I just need to cry this out."

I could help but laugh as I held her close, letting the sound of my heart beating lull her to sleep. Soon, the hitching of her breath and her trembling faded, replaced with soft snores. My hand stroked the back of her head as my eyes slowly closed, drifting away into a gentle slumber.


	8. PLEASE READ

**(IF YOU'RE READING THIS STORY, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE NO ONE'S READING EXCEPT MY FATHER.)**


	9. Giving In

**(Warning: People are going to speak Swahili, get your translator ready!)**

(Erik's POV)

I woke up in the morning to the feeling of someone's fingers in my ginger hair. There was the sound of a girl giggling a little, it must have been Cordelia. A smile grew on my face as I realized my head was elevated; she had my head on her lap.

I opened eyes to see her looking down at me with a grin, "Good morning, sleepy-head" she greeted.

"Morning, how'd you sleep?" I reached up, rubbing my eyes.

"Great, I dreamt about meeting my mother again, you?"

"My feet turned to fish and I was a mermaid's son" I grinned at the memory of the dream.

She grinned back at me and leaned down, pressing her lips to mine. Kissing back, I reached up to caress her cheek, feeling her lip muscles tighten. I pulled away and looked at her, worried. Cover-up came off near her left eye, where the heck did she get that in the middle of no where? Concerned and surprise, I sat up to take a better look at the bruised skin. It was a black eye.

"Who hurt you, was it Adam?" I accussed, about to stand up when she grabbed my wrist.

"No!" she gasped, a flash of fear on her face to be quickly replaced with an nervous look. "Adam and I was sparring but when he was showing me where I was keeping myself vulnerable, he tried to pretend to kick me. But he had too much momentum to slow down and accidentally kicked me."

I knew she was lying by the flickering of her eyes in different directions but I had to let it go for her sake. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around her; I let another of my loved ones get hurt. Thank god that this one would heal.

**(Use traslator now!)**

"Uss!" I heard a harsh whisper coming from quite a distance away.

I turned to Cordelia, "Get Adam, they caught up."

"Erik…" she stopped me from heading to the stormers. "I don't want to run anymore and neither does Adam so the question is, do you still want to run?"

She was completely serious, I thought for a moment.

"So, you _want _to get married?" I asked.

The brunette smiled at me, nodding. 'Do I really want to spend the rest of my life married to her?' I had to ask myself. With hesitation, my right leg took a step back as I grasped her hands, lowering myself onto my knee. Staring up with hope, I spoke softly and almost shyly.

* * *

><p>(Adam's POV)<p>

I walked back to the camp, noticing Erik down on his knee in front of Cordelia. With my arm strangling the fire-wood, I could feel my heart burning intensly. I wanted to tear his-

"Cordelia…I know that along the road, we had are ups and downs but we always had each others' backs no matter what we went through. I love you so…will you-" he was cut off by a net falling on them with the ends of it weighted with rocks.

The fire-wood I held dropped to the ground when I dashed towards, struggling to run with a crutch. Then, something pulled my ankles together tightly, tripping me. Someone threw a lasso around my legs. Dark skinned people with tribal clothes came at us but before I could try to escape, I was clonked on the head with a rock to knock me out.

* * *

><p>(Erik's POV)<p>

"Kuondoka naye huko" I could hear the sound of an old woman's voice. It was familiar but it sounded to foggy to hear correctly.

I could feel my body being laid down on something soft…fur. Other than that, I couldn't feel anything except a numbness. What was happening?

"Huwa jeraha yake na si basi kutoroka." the old woman ordered before fading foot-steps sounded.

With great care, soft skinned fingers touched my hair, moving it to pressed a cloth to an aching part of my head. At first, I winced from a burning sensation that was soon soothed away by cool water. It wasn't long before the numbness died and I gained control of my body.

"I won't hurt" I heard a girl's strong voice.

I opened my emerald eyes to notice auburn orbs gazing with such emptiness. With the light streaming in, it made the pair of eyes appear almost as if they were orange marbles. The female was tribe-girl with dark skin and strange markings on her face with a white paint. The swirls and designs led down her neck, around her arms and ending along her lower back.

"You…hit…head" she kept pausing to do something with her hands; she pointed at me, lightly punched her palm and tapped her forehead.

"W-who are you?" I wouldn't let my body relax until the aching spot on my scalp turned ice-cold in a good way.

Involuntarily, I sighed in relief until I remembered what was happening. Before I could move, she place a glowing yellow crystal on my chest. Instantly, my limbs wouldn't budge and I was stuck like this.

"Tayen Tala, healer apprentice" she tapped her chest, gesturing that her name was Tayen.

**(LIKE I SAID BEFORE, REVIEW BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO WRITE FOR ONLY ONE GUY TO READ!)**


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